Automotive vehicle sunvisors having lighted vanity mirrors for forward seat passengers are known in the art. Such mirrors are normally located on the side of the visor facing the passenger when in lowered position and may be adjusted to the desired reflecting angle through adjustment of the visor, the angle of the mirror relative to the visor being fixed.
In general no similar vanity mirror has been available for the convenience of rear seat passengers; also, in general the only light available for rear seat passengers for reading or the like while the vehicle is underway has been located in the header of the roof, or in some cases in side pillars of the vehicle. Such lights, if shining while the vehicle is underway, can be distracting to the driver and can possibly impair his clear vision of outside traffic conditions, particularly at night.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a vanity mirror and map or reading light arrangement which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of prior arrangements. The invention resides in the provision of a mirror and light assembly which is mounted on the rear side of one or both of the front vehicle seats, and preferably on the head restraint portion thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-position vanity mirror and map or reading light arrangement for back seat passengers, as well as one which may be covered if desired.
Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a neat, attractive head restraint for front seats which incorporates a vanity mirror and map or reading light arrangement for back seat passengers.
Front seat head restraints, whether integrated or separate from the seat, have now become safety mandated standard equipment in order to protect passengers against neck injuries resulting from sudden vehicle acceleration caused by rear end collisions. Such head restraints are normally in close alignment with the forward vision of rear seat passengers. This has been discovered to provide an excellent location for a vanity mirror for use by a rear seat passenger, except that most head restraints, unlike sunvisors, have a relatively fixed position so as not to easily accommodate adjustment of mirror angle. However, conventional head restraints do have a substantial depth, relatively greater than the thickness of a sunvisor, and this has been found to be sufficient to accommodate a pivotal mounting for the mirror within the headrest.
Side lights on the mirror combined with a suitable pivoting action have also been found to provide a convenient supplemental reading or map light for the rear passengers which, in fact, may take the place of and obviate the necessity for a conventional overhead header or pillar light, with its attendant disadvantages.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which make reference to the following set of drawings.